Gelatinized propellant-explosive and process of preparing same.



FREDERIC LEWIS NATHfleN AND WILLIAM RINTOUL, OF STEVENSTON, AND FRANKBAKER, DECEASED, LATE F STEVENSTON, SCOTLAND, BY HENRY BAKER, OF ETOIQ',WINDSOR, ENGLAND, ADMINISTRATOR 0F SAID FRANK BAKER, ASSIGNORS T0 NOBELSEXPLOSIVE COMPANY LIMITED, 0F GLASGOW, SCOTLANE).

GELATIMIZED PROPELLANT-EXPLOSIVE AND PROCESS OF PREPARING- SAME.

lilo Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that Colonel Sir Fneoemc Lewis NATHAN and Winner Rmroun,both subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland and residing atArdeer, Stevenston,

' Ayrshire, Scotland, and Fro-mil BAKER, de-

till

ceased, lute of Ardeer, Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland, invented acertain new and useful Gelatinized Propellant-Explosive and Process ofPreparing Same, of which the following is a specification.

Present day smokeless powders ere enerolly prepared by gcletinizingnitrocel ulosc, either when used alone or with nitroglycerin, by a,volatile solvent but this entails certain disadvantages, the dryingprocess for removing the solvent being lengthy and, what is Worse,besides tending owing to the heating to affect the stability, isincomplete, so that during storage an after-drying and slow productionof irregularities in the material can occur,

In the course of investigations upon the stabilizing o'fnitric-ester-contnining ex losiir es We found that certain unihds {seeUnited States application Serial Number 771621) Patent No. 1,090,642,granted March 17, 191 are )articularly adopted for use for stabilizationut we have further found that among these bodies some ere also effectivegcletinizcrs for mixtures of nitroglycerin and nitrocelluloses. I

.ziccordiug to the present invention therefore we utilize one or moresuch substances to produce it gcletinizcd propellant explosive fromthose nitric esters, the gclntinizer remaining in the final product andacting as stabilizer.

The following is a list of some of thesubstonccs referred to whichpossess this double property nunicly:-

Forinn'oilid (Lllnlh ll'iethyl forrnnnilid (Lll llhl llthyl l'oiniunilid(Li-QUE l henylformunilid lll ON Ethyluceteuilid ih ll tlN Phcuylecetanilid mtl l'l tll l mi or c ii ou orm ortho toluirlirl-- l ormpnrit toluidid iilicnyl sect, ornuphtholid -i tl ll tlll lhcuyl accttlquiphthnlid a--- tj il tlh' lfitliyl acct fi-nuphtlutlid. (3,, ll tlNflootol'tllo :misidicl U lI O N Acct ortlio phenetidid G ll O N PatentedUct. tulle.

Serial No. 821,337.

"-().C H in one of the above compounds often but little affects theirgelatinizing and stabilizing power.

In carrying the invention out in one Way 7.5 parts by weight offormnnilid are dis solved in 40 parts of nitroglycerin and this solutionthen incorporated by the Wet incorporation method of Lundholm EnglishPatent No. 10376 of 1889 with 52.5 parts of soluble nitrocellulose of12.6% nitrogen content, which has been prepared by nitrating cottonwaste at the ordinary temperature,-

and purified by boiling with water.

In carryi g out the incorporation method which consists in bringing thenitroglycerin and nitrocellulose to 'ether in an aqueous suspension thenitroce lulose is suspended in a solution ofthe formanilid of a strengthor 1.02 per cent.

The pasty admixture so obtained is freed as for as possible from waterby pressing and rolling between rollers heated to from 40 to CL, efterwhich it is again rolled at a. temperature of from 50 to 76 C. and {Lgelatinized sheet of the desired thickness obtained Which'is either outinto strips or flakes or extruded from at press. 'lhus to form from thiscompound at cord slightly more than 5 millimeters in diameter a,pressure of some 70 kilograms per square centi' meter would he requiredat wtempereture of 50 1, or of 337 kilograms square centimeter ill; C.or of 267 kilograms per square centimeter at YO C.

The bodies considered very in their gelatinizing oficct and the choiceof the material to be used in any particular case also depends largelyupon the nature of the nitrocellulose to be treated} it powerfulgelatinizer such as ethyl eceten ilid being more suitable for gun cottonor insoluble nitrocellulose than Weaker L eletinizers which may be quitesatisfactory for nitrocellulose of the kind employed in meltingcelluloid. Again the greater the proportion of nitrocellulose in themixture the more ciiecti c the gelatinizcr, which has both to colloidthe fibrous nitrocellulose end to increase the plasticity of the finalproduct, should be.

nizers than stabilizers or convenient to use mlxtures thereof using forAs certain of the bodies are better gelativice versa it may be orthoan-isidid and phenylacet-B-naphthalid introduction into the and viceversa as regards the poorer gelatinizing power of the latter beingcompensated by that of the former their stabilizing effects.

The amount of the gelatinizing and stabilizing agent or agents used willvary but generally be between 5 and 12% of the whole mixture.

The physical properties of the agent or agents used will affect theabove method or mixture for While liquid bodies" such as ethylfprmanilid are easily' dissolved in the nitroglycerin, solids require tobe finely ground and thoroughly agitated with the nitroglycerin or to bemelted, if of low fusing point, and so added to the nitroglycerin. Byadmixture the melting point may be reduced, a mixture for instance of60% formanilid (melting point 7 C.) and 40% form-ortho-toluidid(meltingl point 62 C.) being liquid at 20 C. W ere the substance orsubstances used is or are soluble in water and the Wet incorporationmethod is used, the suspension should be efi'ected in a solution of thesubstance or substances of such strength that having regard to themixture used the right final composition results. Thus for a mixture of35% nitroglycerin, 55% of soluble nitrocellulose (12.6% nitrogen) and10% gelatinizcr the suspension should be effected in a 1.25% solutionwhen usingformanilid or a 0.85% solution when using form-ortho-toluidid.

' Having now described our invention, what We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

1. The process of producing a gelatinized propellant explosive whichcomprises mixing together nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose and an anilidcapable both of gelatinizing nitrocellulose and of stabilizing nitricesters, and a second anilid possessing both these properties, one ofthese anilids possessing the first mentioned property to a smallerextent and the second mentioned property to a larger extent than theother anilid,.and then gelat-' inizing the mixturc.

2. A gelatinized and stabilized propellant explosive comprising ananilid capable both of gelatinizing nitrocellulose and of stabilizingnitric esters, and a second anilid possessing both these properties, oneof these anilicls possessing the first mentioned property to a smallerextent and the tecond mentioned property to a larger extent than theother anilid.

3. A gelatinous propellant explosive containing about forty parts ofnitroglycerin, about 52.5 parts of soluble nitrocellulose/of 12.6%nitrogen content and about 7.5 parts of formanilid.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC LEWIS NATHAN. WILLIAM RINTOUL.

HENRY BAKER. Administrator of the estate of Fz cmlc Bake? deceased.Witnesses:

N. B. MILNE, ALEX Forums. Witnesses:

BERTRAM H. MATTHEWs,

A. OUTHWAITE.

